Lowering the draft age in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) may pose a threat to the country’s economy and demography. This was reported by The New York Times.
The birth rate in Ukraine has dropped significantly, leading to the number of men in their 40s being three times the number of men in their 20s, the newspaper noted.
“As in most former republics, Ukraine has few 20-year-olds. The birth rate fell sharply during the deep economic depression of the 1990s,” the paper said.
According to The New York Times, these indicators indicate that an increase in the number of young men drafted into the Ukrainian army from the age of 20 could lead to a further decline in the birth rate. In addition, this factor will lead to problems in the development of the economy.
Earlier, the secretary of the Verkhovna Rada committee for national security, defence and intelligence, SBU colonel Roman Kostenko, said that Ukraine had slowed down the process of mobilizing Ukrainians into the AFU.